1. Field of Invention
This invention relates in general to devices for lifting and transporting which are mounted upon vehicles and more particularly to a vehicularly mounted apparatus for lifting and transporting powered wheelchairs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hand-propelled wheelchairs are compact, light and easy to fold up and placed in an automobile trunk. By contrast, powered electric wheelchairs are considerably larger and heavier; for example, one popular model weighs 110 pounds. Powered chairs are a great advancement over hand-propelled, manual wheelchairs as they increase speed and mobility, indeed some invalids cannot even operate a manual wheelchair because of the nature of their condition. While there is a great need by the general public (not only the invalids but also their family and friends) for a means to move these heavy, powered wheelchairs from one location to the next by automobile, existing equipment for doing so is insufficient.
Current equipment for transporting powered wheelchairs includes a hoisting mechanism which is bolted inside the automobile's trunk for lifting the wheelchair directly into the car trunk. Firstly, the seat must be removed so that the wheelchair is of a low-profile and will allow the trunk to be closed. Secondly, the hoist and boom mechanism is rotated outside the trunk and a cable system is attached to the wheelchair. The wheelchair is then raised by winch and rotated back towards the trunk where it is lowered in place. This is a very cumbersome task for anyone, much less the physically impaired.
A second apparatus for transporting electric wheelchairs consists of a ramp at the rear of the vehicle, up which the wheelchair is moved to a platform where the wheelchair rides during transport. After loading the wheelchair, the ramp is stored under the platform during transport. The ramp must be raised at the edge, which touches the ground and then must be slid under the platform with the reverse order of steps taking place before unloading. This presents a problem for invalids using the ramp without assistance.
In a third method, a trailer is used to transport the wheelchair. Unfortunately, this also adds to the effective length of the vehicle, making it an impossibility to park in a standard, single-car parking space. Pulling a trailer is often no problem for a person who is not physically impaired as he/she can merely drive to a location in the parking lot at a distance from heavy traffic where two spaces may be occupied. By comparison, handicapped parking zones are near the entrance of buildings and do not allow for a vehicle-trailer combination. An invalid would also have difficulty hooking up and removing a trailer; this problem is similar to the limiting features of ramps and hoist mechanisms in the prior art.
This invention fills a void left by the prior art which allows a physically impaired person to transport their powered wheelchair simply by driving the chair onto a flat surface and pushing a button, thereby moving the chiar to a raised, transport-ready position without the need for winch-booms, ramps, or trailers.
While the aforedescribed problem has existed for years, no relevant disclosures were discovered in the prior art which offered a viable solution. The following patents are illustrative of the relevant prior art:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED TITLE ______________________________________ 4,127,200 Elbert T. Mann 11/28/78 WHEELCHAIR LIFT DEVICE 3,675,833 Robert D. Barr 7/11/72 CARRYING RACK FOR MOTORCYCLE OR SIMILAR DEVICE 3,994,425 Joseph V. Graber 11/30/76 AUTOMOBILE BICYCLE CARRIER 4,019,752 Denny Leon, and 4/26/77 WHEELCHAIR Fredrick M. RESTRAINT Stewart DEVICE 4,113,270 Chester J. 9/12/78 WHEELCHAIR Barecki RETAINER MECHANISM 4,193,526 Donald 3/18/80 TWO-WHEELED Rosmarinofski VEHICLE CARRIER 3,927,810 Michael Danon 12/23/75 BICYCLE SUPPORT RACK 4,461,413 Griffith L. 7/24/84 RETRACTABLE, Hoerner ARTICULATED CARRIER FOR VEHICLES 4,437,599 Harold G. 3/20/84 BICYCLE/ Jordening WHEELCHAIR CARRIER ______________________________________